Thursday, September 12, 2013

Inside Apps Notifier: The Simplest Way to Track Everything in The App Store

Recently, Pretzil launched a new version of Apps Notifier with a redesigned user interface and a much simpler tutorial and navigation process. We wanted to take you through the app and highlight some of the powerful tracking options at your fingertips with this latest version. Whether you're in marketing, a developer or in legal, this app will save you time and money.

There are 2 main sections in Apps Notifier: Search and Watch List. Search is where you find keywords, apps and vendors you want to track, and the Watch List is where you'll go to see what's new each day (or hour). We'll walk you through Search and the various elements you can track, as well as the Watch List, and how it works.

Search

Pretzil's search allows you to look for apps, vendors and keywords that you will want to monitor. We'll take you through the benefits of monitoring each one and how to find what you're looking for. Other than being a basic search tool, where you simply put in what you're looking for, we have an Advanced Search feature which will help you refine your search query.

Advanced Search

With Advanced Search, you can find exactly what you're looking for. For example, if you're looking for a specific app, you may want to only highlight the Title for your search. If you're looking for games that have certain features, you should filter by Description and Release Notes. All of these filters will help you find exactly what you want.

App Tracker

The App Tracker allows you to monitor an app's changes in the App Store. We have a few options available to you for each App Tracker: Remove, Tracking Settings and View on the App Store. Remove and View are self-explanatory, but let's dive into Tracking Settings and see what you can monitor.

Tracking Settings

As you can see, there's a lot of options as to what you can track about an app. If you're looking to keep track of your own apps, we suggest monitoring Rating Count and Average Rating. These will change often and give you an idea of how well your app is doing, without having to go into the App Store and seeing for yourself. If you're monitoring the competition, you'll probably also want to watch Price, Version and Features to see how their app is progressing and changing.

Keywords Tracker

The Keywords Tracker is accessed from your search term and allows you to see when keywords show up in the App Store. This feature is especially important for anyone in the legal industry as it allows you to keep an eye on the App Store for any trademark infringement. For example, if you own the "Rubik's Cube" trademark, use "Rubik's Cube" as a Keyword Tracker and wait for a notification. If you receive one, you'll see which app and vendor is infringing on your trademark, allowing you to take action.

Vendor Tracker

The Vendor Tracker feature allows you to monitor a vendor and you'll specifically see what products they're removing and launching. This works best when monitoring a publisher such as Chillingo or Magmic as it allows you to see all the new games they're launching before anyone else knows about it. If you work at a publisher, you'll appreciate knowing about a product launch before your coworkers know it's live.

Watch List

The Watch List is where you'll discover the magic of Apps Notifier. Once you have fully explored Search and added Vendors, Apps Tracker, and Keywords Trackers, you should have a full Watch List with no items left. You should also note that certain trackers are weighed more heavily than others. For example, monitoring a Vendor, costs more items than monitoring an App because there's more value to the end user.

With a full Watch List, sit back and wait for updates. Apps Notifier will begin sending you notifications based on the items you're monitoring. If any app updates, a vendor launches a new app or a keyword appears in the App Store, you'll get a notification and be able to take action. Apps Notifier will be your eyes on the entire App Store.